Could fibre help control your asthma?

If you suffer with asthma then you will know just how much of a struggle it can. But a new study suggests that the condition could be controlled by cracking down on gut health.

The Daily Mailreports that researchers from the University of Newcastle in Australia ran trials using fibre supplements to ascertain whether it could alter the gut microbiome in asthmatics and positively impact their symptoms.

They helped reduce airway inflammation, while the impact of a meal high in saturated fat was found to aggravate inflammation and cause increased narrowing of the airways.

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'The ground-breaking research offers hope of a viable, complementary treatment for tens of millions of asthmatics around the world struggling to control their asthma with existing medications,' lead researcher, Professor Lisa Wood said.

The findings, presented at the Thoracic Society for Australia and New Zealand Annual Scientific Meeting in Canberra, are the first indication of the gut microbiome's impact on asthma in humans.

'We're at he tip of a new paradigm for how diet can be used to treat asthma,' Professor Peter Gibson, President of TSANZ, explained to the event's attendees.

'These studies show both how diets high in fat can worsen asthma, and how – conversely – a diet high in soluble fibre can help manage it,' Professor Wood continued. 'It illustrates just how vitally important it is that Australians eat a healthily and how fundamental healthy gut bacteria are to our well being.'

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